Poison of Love
by Mouko
Summary: (Rewrite) Love between family, friends, or even more, can drive someone beyond that which they never conceived possible. As the line between metal and flesh begins to blur, Rock and others start to see in a whole new light - for better or worse.
1. Chapter 1

Author Notes: This is practically a complete and total rewrite of the original Poison of Love. The basic thoughts and some characters are the same, but most of it is brand new. Thus, those of you who read the original are going to be pleasantly surprised to find that this isn't simply the old fic all over again, with some spelling improvements and grammar checks! 

We will be using the character's Japanese names; this is more for personal preference than anything else. 

Rockman (Rock) = Megaman (Rock) 

Blues = Protoman/Breakman 

Forte = Bass 

Gospel = Treble 

Neither Yuki nor myself claim to own Megaman, the genre or the characters involved. Our interpretations of these characters are entirely our own and do not represent Capcom's views on said characters. Rose is my own personal brainchild. And before you ask, no; Rose is not named after the flower but rather the musical term. But I like roses so both work out. :3 

Poison Of Love 

By Neon Tiger and Yuki Ryu 

Chapter 1 

"Hey, hey, hey! I wanna turn with the remote!" 

"Fat chance, butthead." 

Wily glowered at nothing, his expression dismal and uninterested in the squabbling Robot Masters around him. He was wrapped up in a blanket, holding a cup of tea in his hands as his feet rested in a bucket of warm water. He wasn't feeling well; in fact, he was feeling hideous. The worst had happened. 

Dr. Wily was out of ideas. 

"But... but... Forte..." Woodman's lower lip trembled. "You had the remote all day!" 

"And I'll have it for the rest of the day, too!" Forte snapped, yanking the remote out of reach. 

"But we wanna watch something else!" Needleman whined. 

"Tough!" Forte sneered. "I have the remote, so I have the choice!" 

"Hey, Jackass is on!" Junkman suddenly exclaimed before he snagged the remote from Forte, being tall enough to just casually reach down to do so, and then proceeded to change the channel. 

Forte stared at his hands, then glared up at Junkman slowly. "Oh, it's on now." 

"Yeah, that's what he said-!" Woodman nodded before yelping as Forte lunged at Junkman, snarling. 

"GIVE ME THAT REMOTE!" Forte roared. 

"But everyone likes Jackass!" Junkman yelped as he fell over off the sofa, holding the remote up. 

"No, no, no! No one likes that icky show!" Clownman protested as he hung from a ceiling fan. He then proceeded to snatch the controller from Junkman's hand just as Forte was about to, and quickly changed the channel. "It's time for the super special 'Barney Meets the Teletubbies'! I've been waiting all month to see it!" 

"But... but... 'The Price is Right' is on!" Woodman stomped his foot. "I wanna see! I wanna see! Bob Barker's so sexy!" 

Everyone stared at Woodman oddly before returning to their squabbling. 

"We're watching Jackass!" 

"Barney! Barney!" 

"NO!" 

"Bob Barker's buns are so firm!" 

"The Osbournes!" 

"That's all garbage!" 

"How about Jerry Springer?" 

"Bob Barker isn't garbage!" 

"Fear Factor!" 

"Garbage, garbage, GARBAGE!" 

"JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!" 

"It's a SPECIAL! We have to watch!" 

"I wanna see who gets voted off tonight!" 

"Let's watch something educational." 

A female robot with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail with a ribbon strolled over and grabbed the remote effortlessly from Needleman before she changed the channel, looking quite ordinary and not very intimidating in her blue jeans and red t-shirt. 

Everyone turned to stare at her as the girl sat down casually and turned on a documentary. No one moved for a while, too stunned at how easily and calmly Rose, the female house cleaning robot, managed to steal something from a large group of male combat robots as if it were nothing at all. 

Even worse, they were stunned at the fact that no one dared try to take it back. 

"Oooh, a documentary on the Star of Ishtar!" Rose squealed. "It must be because of the fact that the museum just got it in!" 

"Who could watch that when Jackass is on?" Junkman grumbled quietly. 

"Jackass is for jackasses," Rose said, firmly. 

Junkman didn't say anything for a moment as Rose's comment sunk in. "... Hey! Did you just call me a jackass?!" 

"I don't know, did I?" Rose looked at him casually. 

"... Er...?" Junkman blinked, confused. 

"What's the big deal about a stupid trinket?" Forte grunted as he sat down by Rose, knowing better than to argue with her. 

"Barneeeey... Teletubbiiiieeeees..." Clownman sniffled softly, but kept his whining quiet so Rose wouldn't hear. 

"Oh, it's more than just a trinket!" Rose giggled. "It's gorgeous... and has a lot of history behind it!" 

"Like what?" Iceman asked from his seat on the rug, being the only Robot Master present that had the sense not to get in a brawl over the remote. 

"Well, according to legend, it's one of the most powerful magical artifacts ever created," Rose began excitedly. "Supposedly it was created a long time ago by a powerful sorcerer for the Goddess Ishtar. It's said to have the power to summon a person or creature of whatever the keeper of the orb wished." 

"Shyeah, whatever!" Forte scoffed. "What a load of crap." 

"You mean, like all the junk that comes out of your mouth?" Rose eyed Forte, who blinked and shrugged with a grunt. Rose smirked slightly, then tilted her head. "Anyway... Whatever was summoned by the Star of Ishtar could be made any way the summoner wished, which included everything from their appearance to their abilities. The only downside was that the Star was transformed to do it so there could only be one at a time." 

"Weird story," Springman commented as he wound his leg back into place. Junkman had sat on it while they were fighting over the remote and flattened it. 

"I like stories!" Woodman giggled. 

"Sounds like one of my Transformers!" Clownman piped in, forgetting about his show for the moment. 

"Feh," Forte snorted. "Just sounds like an overly fancy robot to me." 

"A robot?" 

Rose jumped and turned to stare at Wily, who was suddenly staring far too intently at the television. "A robot, you say?" 

"Well... the legend does mention one of the forms the Star of Ishtar took was of a metal golem," Rose said, slowly. 

"... Yes... YES!" Wily cackled, standing up sharply. However, his feet where still in the water as he did so. Thus, he tumbled to the floor with a cry, water spraying everywhere. However, he didn't seem to care as he cackled on the ground. "YES! BRILLIANT!" 

Rose stared at Wily, idly wondering if there was sake in his tea. 

"You!" Wily pointed up at Forte. "Go! Get that star!" 

"Eh?" Forte blinked. 

"Go to the museum and steal that star!" Wily repeated, gleefully. "I can use it to make the ultimate robot!" 

Forte's cheek twitched. "_I'm_ the ultimate robot." 

Wily just looked at him, and then cackled. "Yes, that star could be the key to my ultimate victory!" 

Rose inched over and helped Wily to his feet, who held her arm and giggled happily. 

"Yes, yes... an idea! I thought I was getting too old for ideas... and then I suddenly have a breakthrough!" Wily cackled. "It's perfect!" 

"Uh, of course, doctor," Rose eyed her creator. 

Forte's cheek twitched visibly. 

---------- 

"Stupid Wily... stupid plans... stupid Star," Forte grunted as he crouched on the ceiling of the museum, peering downwards through the skylight. "Stupid, stupid, stupid. I'm the ultimate robot! Not some ancient piece of crap!" 

"Weee! I'm on a mission!" Woodman beamed from behind Forte. 

"Shut up," Forte growled. 

"Don't be so anal, my dear!" Starman purred, oddly enough crouching right behind Forte and getting a rather good show of Forte's metallic fanny. "We're all FRIENDS here, aren't we?" 

Forte sweatdropped and shifted so that Starman didn't have as good of a view anymore. 

"Awww," Starman pouted, his bright blue eyes sparkling sadly. 

"Can we go?" Astroman whimpered. "I... I don't mean to rush you... but... we're so high and... and... EEE, what's that noise!? A cat? A cat, was that a cat!? 

Forte eyed Astroman oddly, then grunted and massaged his forehead. 

"Wonderful. I'm going to rob a museum and who are my backup? A moron, a fruit, and a coward." 

"I PREFER the term 'batting for the other team'," Starman sniffed, daintily. 

"Whatever!" Forte spat. "Let's just go." With that, the black and gold robot leaned forward and slowly lifted the skylight upwards. 

"Yeah! Yeah!" Woodman laughed and lunged forward. Forte had no time to react before he found himself tackled by the overly large Robot Master and sent crashing through the skylight. 

Forte screamed as he and Woodman fell towards the ground below before crashing into it with a mighty shudder. Forte moaned as he climbed out of the crater, disoriented. Beneath him, Woodman looked around sheepishly. 

"Whoops?" 

"Oh man, oh man, oh man!" Astroman fretted, becoming more than a little hysterical. "We're going to get caught and... I'll bet the silent alarm's going off like crazy... and... and... Oh my gosh, I'll bet Rockman's on his way already!" 

"Did you get a boo-boo?" Starman asked as he landed near Forte. "Shall I kiss it and make it better?" 

"Shut up," Forte grunted. 

"Hey wait, don't leave me up here all alone!" Astroman yelped as he quickly hovered down after the others. 

"Let's just find that stupid star and get out of here!" Forte snapped. 

"You don't have to yell..." Astroman whimpered as he hid behind Woodman from Forte's wrath. Woodman blinked at Astroman. 

"Someone needs to relax after this," Starman crooned as he walked by Forte. He dragged his finger along Forte's back as he went. "Why don't you visit my room for some R & R?" 

"... Don't you mean S & M?" Forte arched an eyebrow. 

"Whatever floats your boat, hon," Starman smirked. 

"Oh man... oh man... oh man... we have to hurry or we'll get caught!" Astroman whimpered as he looked about nervously. "Or worse Rockman will beat our butts again... and Dr. Wily will have to rebuild us and... and... he'll be all mad... Oh, BOY will he be mad!" 

Forte glared angrily at Astroman, then whirled and started stalking through the museum. He disliked being reminded about Rockman; he particularly disliked being reminded of the 'getting beat by Rockman' part. 

"Oh man... is he mad at me?" Astroman fretted. "He sure looked mad... I'll bet he IS mad at me...! Oh no... I'm in SO much trouble!" 

"No, he just needs someone to relieve some of his... tension," Starman observed. 

Forte grunted as he stalked through the museum, glancing about idly for any sign of the Star of Ishtar. He really didn't want to get it but knew that, in the end, he had no choice. 

"The doc'd just bitch until I did," he sighed. 

Suddenly there was a crash. 

"Whoops!" Woodman yelped as he stood next to the shattered remains of a priceless ancient vase. 

Forte cringed then glowered over at Woodman. "Keep your hands to yourself!" 

"But it was so shiny and pretty!" Woodman protested, eyes shimmering. 

"You broke it, so it isn't shiny or pretty anymore!" Forte snarled. 

Woodman sniffled as tears came to his eyes. 

"Oh man, oh man, oh man, I knew it!" Astroman cringed. "He's maaaaaaad!" 

"Just frustrated!" Starman giggled. 

Forte growled deep in his throat and stalked down the museum, practically radiating anger. 

"Hmmm, so what does this star look like?" Starman inquired, idly tracing the contours of a vase. 

"... Like a star?" Forte offered. 

"You don't know," Starman observed. 

"Whatever, how hard could it be!? The damn thing's probably labeled!" Forte snarled. 

Suddenly there was another loud crash. 

"Whoops again!" 

"Touch something else and I'll use your hands for matches!" Forte growled. 

"Yeep!" Woodman yelped, obviously not wanting to be charred to a crisp, and quickly ducked behind Astroman. 

"H-hey!" Astroman squealed and the two Robot Masters got into a brief scuffle as to who would shield who from Forte's rage. 

"Bleh," Forte grunted and continued walking. Starman eyed Woodman and Astroman, then grinned and followed after Forte. 

Minutes passed as the robots explored the museum, looking for the Star of Ishtar. It wasn't until they passed the numerous exhibits of dinosaurs and Native Americans that they finally came to a rather interesting Babylonian exhibit. 

Many colorful pieces of Babylonian history hung from the walls and were displayed prominently amidst the floor in an intricate design meant to replicate the interior of a Babylonian temple as best as possible. It was most likely done in such a way to give those that came to see the exhibit a feel for what it was like to search the ancient ruins and find ancient treasures like the archeologists did. 

The majority of the artifacts seemed to be centered on the Goddess Ishtar, with the dominant color being a deep blue that had faded over time. Each piece was most certainly priceless, particularly the jewelry, which seemed the most ornate at all. 

"... Wow," Starman blinked as he looked around. "I'd like some jewelry like this!" 

In the center of the exhibit hall was the most dazzling part of the display. Numerous small yet intricately designed statuettes varying in appearance, make, and subtly in size rested on almost perfectly smooth round pillars. Each pillar was decorated with ancient script writing and pictures, most likely depicting some part of an almost forgotten legend. 

In the middle of the circle of pillars was an even larger pedestal made entirely of finely crafted gold of varying types, and enhanced with almost every precious gemstone imaginable. 

Resting, almost humbly, atop the pedestal was the largest gem of all. It was only slightly larger than the average softball and was perfectly smooth and round, its color deep and richly blue with an almost shimmering exterior that made it seem as if it were glowing softly. 

"... Huh, so that's why Rose likes this crap..." Forte blinked, then looked at the largest gem. "And that must be the Star." 

"Brilliant deductive skills, hon," Starman winked. 

"Shut up," Forte growled. 

"OOOOH! SHINY!" Woodman squealed as he ran excitedly into the exhibit hall. 

"Uh... um... well... shouldn't... you... um... check the label thingy first?" Astroman stammered nervously as he tapped his fingers together. 

Forte glowered at Woodman and Astroman before stalking towards the pedestal. "I don't need to. I'm not an idiot." 

"But... but what if it's something else here?" Astroman stammered. "I don't mean to make you mad! I... I'm just saying that... you know... Dr. Wily would get really mad at us if we were wrong and... and he'd start yelling and... and..." 

"Let him," Forte growled. 

"Can I touch this then?" Woodman asked excitedly as he pointed at the largest gem, running towards it eagerly. 

"NO!" Forte barked. "Don't touch-!" 

"Stop right there, Forte!" 

Forte jerked about to stare as a familiar blue robot stood just a few feet away, aiming his blaster at them. 

"... Damn it," Forte sighed. "Not you. Not now." 

"OH NO, OH NO, OH NO! IT'S ROCKMAN!" Astroman squealed fearfully as he flailed his arms about in a panic. 

"Mmm, still wearing those tights, I see," Starman grinned. 

"Yes me," Rockman scowled, 'sternly'. He tried to ignore Astroman and Starman. "What are you doing here?" 

"None of your business!" Forte snapped. 

"Uh... Forte... maybe we should grab the shiny thing and bolt before Rockman kicks our butts again," Woodman suggested in a quiet whisper. 

"That's the first smart thing you've ever said," Forte growled, then turned on his heel and darted for the pedestal. 

"HEY! WAIT!" Rockman cried as he darted after Forte, aiming at him. "Stop! I'll shoot if you don't! I mean it!" 

"Oh dear! I think he's serious!" Astroman squealed and began to flee. 

"Tee hee!" Starman 'pranced' away in a very poor attempt to run and wiggle his hips far too much. "Oh dear, oh MY." 

"Shut up and distract him!" Forte snapped. "I don't have time to mess with him today!" 

"Uh, how?" Woodman blinked blankly at Forte. 

"ATTACK HIM!" Forte howled. 

"Forte! I don't want to fight you!" Rockman grunted. "Just give up!" 

"Oh, okay!" Woodman said and quickly activated his special ability. 

Such an action proved to be a critical mistake. 

When the leaf shield formed around Woodman, the Robot Master had forgotten to take into account the priceless artifacts that he was standing far too close to. As the metallic leaves swirled about him, they ended up smashing into the intricate display and sent everything flying about in random directions, some of them in pieces. 

"AAAAACK! YOU IDIOT!" Forte shrieked. 

Rockman yelped and instinctively dove about, trying to catch the priceless artifacts before they were smashed. 

"Uh... oops?" Woodman rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. 

"Oh no! Oh NO! OH NO! We're going to be in SO much trouble!" Astroman squealed. 

Alarms blared loudly though out the museum, piercing their metallic eardrums. 

"Oh great, now it signals..." Forte flinched, idly recalling how the fall through the skylight hadn't even set off the alarm; at least not the one they could hear. "Anyway... let's scram and leave the Blue Twit to clean up the mess!" 

"But what about-," Woodman began. 

"Forte!" Rockman whirled, his blaster charging as he stood among the debris. "YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!" 

"SHUT UP AND _MOVE_!" Forte screamed as he turned tail and bolted for the door. 

"Indeed!" Starman agreed as he pranced towards the exit, giggling. 

"EEEE!" Astroman shrieked as he flailed his arm and quickly hovered after Forte and the others. 

"Wait for meeeee!" Woodman yowled as he quickly chased after. 

"Forte!" Rockman growled, chasing after the four fleeing robots. "Stop! I said stop!" 

"NO WAY!" 

"Tee hee, running makes me so sweaty!" 

"Oh deeeeaaaar! We're in SO much trouble and I just know we're going to get yelled at!" 

"Aww... I wanted the big shiny thing!"


	2. Chapter 2

Author Notes: Notice the difference yet? ;P As said before, this is a complete rewrite. 

We will be using the character's Japanese names; this is more for personal preference than anything else. 

Rockman (Rock) = Megaman (Rock) 

Blues = Protoman/Breakman 

Forte = Bass 

Gospel = Treble 

Neither Yuki nor myself claim to own Megaman, the genre or the characters involved. Our interpretations of these characters are entirely our own and do not represent Capcom's views on said characters. Rose is my own personal brainchild. 

Poison Of Love 

By Neon Tiger and Yuki Ryu 

Chapter 2 

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!" 

Forte sighed and crossed his arms, glaring irritably at the ground. He tried to put on his best display of feeling guilty for failing but only came off as irritated. It was bad enough they came home empty-handed, but then Wily decided to put icing on the cake by ranting at them about their incompetence. To be honest, Forte personally didn't see the big deal about not getting the Star; he was the ultimate robot! 

Wily just didn't see things that way. 

"You FAILED!" Wily snarled as he stomped back and forth, shaking his fists. "You can't steal one simple jewel! You're useless! USELESS!" 

"But Rockman showed up..." Woodman tried to protest. 

"THAT'S NO EXCUSE!" Wily screamed, waving a fist at Woodman. "I made you to _FIGHT_ Rockman, so he should have been no problem for you!" 

Woodman yelped and cringed back. Even if a punch from his creator would do more damage to the human than himself, the doctor was able to do things far worse than that when angered. 

Forte refrained from reminding Wily whose fault it was that a moron like Woodman was on the mission at all. He knew he could have handled it just as easily himself. However, Wily was in one of his moods. 

Likewise, his other two 'companions' were no help either. 

Wily was obviously ignoring Starman distinctively. Who could blame him? Ever since Starman flirted with the doctor, Wily had tried to speak to him as little as possible. 

Astroman was making a wide array of scared noises as he cringed away from his creator's wrath. Were he human he would be sweating so much by now that he would have died from dehydration. But atleast Astroman did serve a purpose; he generated enough fear to make up for the otherwise lack of fear that Forte displayed. 

Forte sighed. He sometimes wished the doctor would take up medication, like Prozac; he needed it. 

"AND YOU!" Wily whirled to point a finger in the black and gold robot's face, as if sensing Forte's thoughts. "What the hell were you doing!?" 

"Trying to baby-sit THEM," Forte grunted. 

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT!" Wily roared. Forte sighed as Wily proceeded to go in to a huge rant about responsibility and being useful. 

Astroman cowered in utter terror as he fearfully paid attention to the doctor's every word should Wily get even angrier if they weren't listening. 

Woodman occasionally cringed but couldn't help but think about how much Wily's mustache looked like a paintbrush and what it might be like to use it to paint a picture. 

Starman was simply too busy flirting with Geminiman. No one paid any attention to him. 

"Faaather! I'm hooome!" Rose strolled in to the room, then paused and glanced around at the assembled Robot Masters and their irate creator. "What's wrong?" 

"Wrong!? THESE MORONS DIDN'T GET THE STAR, that's what's wrong!" Wily shrieked, then paused and whirled to stare at Rose. "And where were YOU?!" 

"Getting the Star," Rose said calmly, pulling out a familiar large gem from down her shirt. She noticed the stares, then flushed and coughed. "I had to hide it down there. It was the only place the guards wouldn't search." 

Wily's jaw dropped as his eyes widened, his fists raised in mid-rant. 

Forte's own jaw dropped as well, unable to believe that Rose actually got the Star. 

Astroman practically fell over in relief, far too glad that someone had brought back the Star rather than who brought it. After all, if Wily had the Star then that most likely meant that they wouldn't get punished. 

"You go girl!" Starman gave Rose a thumbs up as he hooked an arm around Geminiman's waist. 

"Hey!" Geminiman protested as he quickly removed himself from Starman's grasp. 

"OOOH! YOU GOT THE SHINIEST THING!" Woodman squealed happily, obviously looking forward to playing with the 'shiniest thing'. 

"Er, yeah," Rose sweatdropped, noting the reactions. "Um... this is what you wanted, isn't it?" 

"H-how...?" Forte managed to choke out. 

"Oh, well... I followed you," Rose giggled. Forte grimaced, and rubbed his forehead. Rose had a habit of stalking the 'big boys' when they went out 'to play', so naturally he should have expected her to follow them when their mission involved something she was interested in. "And, well, I arrived when the place was swarming with police. I snuck in to see if anyone was captured and if I could help... then I saw the Star. So I grabbed it and shoved it down my shirt!" 

Forte was horrified and shocked. 

Astroman started to fret that Wily would get mad at them again because of how easily Rose got the Star when they couldn't. 

Woodman continued to stare at the Star while squealing about how shiny it was. 

Starman was too busy trying to convince Geminiman to 'stay the night' in his room. 

Geminiman would have been shocked as well if he weren't already preoccupied with trying to convince Starman that 'no means no'. 

"D-did I mess up?" Rose squeaked, suddenly aware of almost every eye focused on her. 

"Mess up? MESS UP!?" Wily lunged at Rose and pulled her in to a tight hug. "You're a miracle! A MIRACLE!" 

"Ah?" Rose blinked repeatedly. 

"A miracle!" Wily repeated. "You did it! I can't believe you did it! A non-combat robot did something that none of my COMBAT robots could do!" 

"... Uh..." Rose blinked. "Maybe it's because I'm a girl." 

"Hm?" Wily looked at Rose. 

Rose simply beamed. 

Wily paused, and then cackled as he let the comment slide. "Indeed, indeed!" 

"Here!" Rose held out the Star to Dr. Wily, who immediately grabbed it and bolted out of the room. 

"Success! SUCCESS! I should have made more girl robots! I can actually rely on THEM!" he crowed as he disappeared. 

Rose blinked after Dr. Wily, then glanced around the room and shrugged. 

"Aww... I wanted to play with the shiniest thing..." Woodman sniffled. 

"Oh man... I feel so inadequate now..." Astroman whimpered as he poked his fingers together and looked down. 

"You ARE inadequate," Forte snapped, flushed as he felt that his manliness and worth was now compromised by a non-combat female robot. 

"Really? I am?" Astroman asked, whimpering. "Oh no, oh no, oh no! Now I'll bet Dr. Wily is going to turn me into scrap for sure! I just know it!" 

Rose shifted, feeling very uncomfortable. "I'm sure he won't, Astro." 

"Really...? You think...?" Astroman asked hopefully as he looked at Rose with wide eyes, his hands clasped together. 

"Of course," Rose smiled, brightly. "He may say it sometimes... but he never really means it. I mean... if he did, he wouldn't have rebuilt you." 

"Yeah... yeah, that's right!" Astroman said happily, visibly relieved. 

Forte continued to sulk. 

"Hey, Bob Barker's probably on!" Woodman exclaimed suddenly before he darted out towards the TV room. 

--- 

"Hmm..." Wily tapped the tip of his pen against the papers, glaring at it thoughtfully. "I suppose that about covers the details..." 

Forte leaned against the wall, still sulking, as he watched Dr. Wily toil over the plans to his 'ultimate robot'. 

"It'll be complex... but I enjoy a good challenge!" Wily smirked. 

"Teh," Forte pouted, though Wily chose to ignore him. 

"Now all I have to do is build it," Wily nodded. 

With that, he turned and headed towards his tool chest. As Wily left the plans, Rose walked in and blinked. She noticed the plans, and then looked at Forte. 

"Is that the new robot?" she asked. 

"Grf," Forte glowered. 

"Okay then!" Rose headed over to the table and peered down at the plans. She blinked, and then scowled. "... It's a guy." 

"So?" Forte arched an eyebrow. "All combat robots are guys." 

"Girls can fight too," Rose grunted. 

"... All combat robots are guys," Forte repeated. 

"We'll see about that!" Rose snapped, grabbing the plans and storming out of the room. Forte blinked repeatedly, unsure of what just happened, and stared at his sister's retreating form. 

"Well then!" Wily smirked as he headed back over, oblivious to what had just happened. "Let's get start-HEY! Where are my plans!?" The doctor whirled to glare at Forte, accusingly. 

"Don't look at me!" Forte shrugged, helplessly. "Rose took them!" 

"... Why?" 

"How should I know!?" 

"Well, go FIND her!" 

"Fine, fine!" Forte held his hands up, helplessly. He whirled and stormed out of the room, muttering. 

Forte spent a good hour trying to find Rose, who had seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. He asked every Robot Master he came across if they had seen Rose, but all they could do was tell him they saw her in places he had already checked. Except for Starman's room, like the Robot Master in question had suggested. 

However, Forte eventually found Rose in the one place he didn't think to look: her room. 

Rose hummed cheerfully as she worked on the plans, using different colored pens. A wide variety rested on her desk, ranging from red and pink to blue and purple. She used each one in turn, as if she were drawing a picture. 

Forte stood in the doorway, momentarily stunned, before he coughed. 

"Uh... Wily wants..." he began. 

"Almost done!" Rose said, cheerfully. 

"... Done?" 

"Yep." 

"Done with what?" 

"Fixing the plans, silly!" 

"... What have you done?" 

"Just wait! SHE'S going to be wonderful!" 

"... _SHE!?!_" 

--- 

"Welcome back, Rockman! How did it go?" 

"Very strangely, doctor... very strangely," Rockman sighed as he walked in to the lab, his feet dragging. "Just... strangely." 

"What do you mean?" Dr. Light blinked. 

"They ran away, doctor," Rockman looked up at Dr. Light. "And they were trying to rob the museum! Something about the Star of Ishtar... I can only imagine they were after the new exhibit." He paused. "Which is gone, I might add." 

"The Star of Ishtar was stolen?" Dr. Light blinked again and stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Why would Dr. Wily want that or anything else from the museum?" 

"I don't know!" Rockman shrugged helplessly. "I would have thought they'd steal something from a weapons plant, not a museum!" 

"That is most peculiar," Light muttered as he walked over to one of the computers. "Dr. Wily must see something we're missing. I'll try to look up all I can about it and see what I can find." 

"That's a good idea, doctor!" Rockman nodded vigorously, then paused and tilted his head. "Um... doctor?" 

"Yes, Rockman?" Light blinked as he turned towards his creation. 

"... Starman was staring at me again," Rockman muttered. 

Dr. Light was taken back for a moment. "Staring? In what way?" he asked, even though he had a sneaking suspicion as to what way it was already. 

"... He said I had on a tight uniform," Rockman looked at Dr. Light levelly. 

"... Oh." Dr. Light scratched his head, perspiring slightly both because he was the one that designed Rockman's armor and because apparently Wily had given his robots more human emotions than he had previously thought. "I see..." 

Rockman was silent for a few moments as he looked around, and then lowered his voice. "Maybe you could, um, design it so I don't look like I'm running around in underwear all the time?" 

Dr. Light coughed and nodded. "Uh, of course, Rockman. I'll get right on it after we try and figure out what Dr. Wily's up to. Is that alright with you?" 

"Okay," Rockman nodded, then scowled. "But I'm going to kick Starman if he hits on me again." 

"Yes, well, about that... Maybe it's time I had a talk with you about some things." 

"Huh?" Rockman blinked. 

"Since you are who you are, I wasn't sure if I should have this talk with you or not, but now seems as good a time as any." 

"... What are you talking about, doctor?" Rockman started to worry. 

"Well... it's an important discussion some people have dubbed 'the birds and the bees'..." 

--- 

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" 

"WHY!?" 

"THERE'S MANY REASONS!" Wily ranted as he threw his arms up into the air, glaring at his 'daughter'. 

"NAME ONE!" Rose put her hands on her hips and glowered at Wily, not about to back down. 

"FOR ONE, YOU ALTERED MY BRILLIANT PLANS!" Wily snapped as he pounded his fist on a nearby table for emphasis. 

"I made them better!" Rose retorted, flipping her hair back haughtily. 

"You changed about half of everything!" Wily slammed his fist again. 

"It needed changing!" Rose insisted. 

"You made it a GIRL!" 

"Girls can be combat robots!" 

"There has NEVER been a female combat robot!" 

"Then it's about time you made one!" 

"Girl robots don't make good combat robots!" 

"How would you know!?" 

"Because I've built thousands of different robots!" 

"ALL OF THEM MALE!" Rose stomped her foot. "Did you forget that I got the Star all by myself when your MALE robots couldn't do it!?" 

Forte knew better than to get involved. Instead, he chose to stand against the wall and watch with an amused smile. The two had been fighting for three hours and no one was any closer to winning. 

"That was a fluke!" Wily waved his arm into the air as if for emphasis. "Besides! If that meddling Rockman hadn't interfered, they would have gotten it anyway!" 

"Girls can be just as effective as boys!" Rose stomped her foot again. 

"They can, but not as fighters!" Wily pounded his fist into the table, knocking off a couple pieces of paper and a pencil. "Girls are best doing GIRL things!" 

"And what, pray TELL, is a _GIRL THING_?" Rose's eyes sparked, challengingly. 

"This'll get ugly," Forte whispered, his amusement increasing. 

"Cooking, cleaning, minding the house, and other GIRL THINGS!" Wily proclaimed, determined to make his creation back down from the argument. 

"GUYS can do that too!" Rose growled. "Just as GIRLS can do GUY things!" 

"GIRLS are made to do GIRL things and that's all there is to it!" Wily crossed his arms. 

"OH REALLY!?" Rose crossed her arms. 

"REALLY! My ultimate robot will be MALE and that's FINAL!" Wily snapped. 

"Then I guess you don't want to eat anymore, hm?" Rose's eyes narrowed dangerously. 

Wily paused for a moment then scowled all the more. "Now you listen to me! I'm not going to allow you blackmail me! I AM YOUR CREATOR!" 

"AND I COOK THE MEALS IN THIS FORTRESS!" Rose returned, hotly. "If you ever want me to cook for you ever again, that robot is going to be a girl!" 

"He made her too much like him," Forte observed, though he couldn't help but grin. He had to admit that he, too, had a touch of Wily in him. He idly wondered if the doctor really intended for them to be the family he never had. If so, then Wily would have to get used to family squabbles. 

Wily twitched, not used to someone standing up to him, aside from Forte occasionally, especially his 'daughter'. "If you're so insistent on having another girl, I'll make another girl, but THIS robot is going to be a boy!" 

"You'll forget!" Rose snapped. "THIS one's going to be a girl!" 

"Ten to one says he gives in," Magnetman whispered. 

"You're on," Cloudman whispered. 

"I MADE A PERFECT DESIGN FOR A BOY, NOT A GIRL!" Wily snapped back. 

"AND I FIXED IT SO IT'S A PERFECT DESIGN FOR A GIRL!" Rose yelled. 

Wily made a loud noise of frustration and tugged on his hair. "ERRRRRGGH! WHY MUST YOU BE SO STUBBORN ABOUT THIS!?!" 

"Because that's the way you designed her," Forte thought, though even he didn't have the guts to say that out loud. Fact was, Rose had been designed to be the housekeeping robot; not only that, she was meant to take care of the old man, giving him an honest second opinion and making sure he got enough sleep and no longer pulled any more 'all nighters' like he did when he was younger. To accomplish that, she needed a backbone. Unfortunately for Wily, it wasn't a selective backbone. 

Rose's eyes suddenly watered as her lower lip trembled. "B-because you're being mean!" 

"... Oh god, The Pout," Forte whispered, smirking. 

"Wily's going down," Magnetman observed. 

Wily froze in mid-rant at the sight of Rose pouting. He struggled to fight its effects, but ultimately was no match. "... Now... Rose... don't cry... I wasn't trying to be mean..." he said in a lower voice, obviously at a loss. 

"I j-just want a... another g-girl around s-so I won't feel s-so lonely," Rose's eyes shimmered, tears dripping down her cheeks. "And... and you keep saying that you don't like girls... T-that means you don't like ME, doesn't it?!" 

Magnetman quietly hummed taps. 

Wily deflated, no match for his 'daughter's tears. 

"... Fine. I'll make her a girl," he sighed. 

"OH THANK YOU!" Rose lunged to hug Dr. Wily, immediately forgetting her 'crying'. 

"Told ya," Magnetman chuckled. 

"Hm. I wonder if I can look pouty enough or if it only works for girls?" Forte wondered. 

"It's gotta be a girl thing," Cloudman commented. 

"... You're welcome, Rose," Wily sighed again as he returned the hug. 

"He never stood a chance," Geminiman snickered. 

"Can I be a girl?" Woodman asked. 

Everyone ignored him. 

--- 

Roll hummed to herself as she dusted off the shelves, taking pride in her work in keeping the Light household nice and clean. The fact that she enjoyed it helped make it seem less like work and more like a hobby. 

A dull clink of footsteps reached her ears, signaling that someone was entering the room. 

Roll paused in her dusting and turned to look towards the noise. She brightened as she noticed that it was Rockman. "Welcome home, Rock!" she said cheerfully. 

Rockman said nothing as he slowly walked in to the room, a distinctive glaze in his eyes. 

"Rock?" she blinked as she watched her brother walk in a zombie-like manner. 

Rockman turned sharply on his heels and trotted towards the couch. 

Roll blinked again and her brows furrowed with worry as she quickly walked after Rockman. "Are you okay?" she asked. 

Rockman sat down without a word, staring at absolutely nothing. 

"Rock?" Roll repeated as she sat down on the couch next to her brother, trying to catch his attention. 

Rockman's cheek twitched. 

"What's wrong?" Roll asked, growing more worried by the second. 

"..." Rockman twitched again. 

"Rock?" Roll scooted a bit closer to her brother. "You're starting to scare me." 

Rockman tilted his head as his jaw clenched. 

"Rock?" Roll paused for a moment, but still her brother didn't speak. "Please say something!" 

"... _WHAT DID ANY OF THAT HAVE TO DO WITH BIRDS OR BEES!?_" Rockman shrieked, standing straight up to shake his fists at the ceiling. 

Roll shrieked in surprise at the sudden unexpected outburst and fell off of the sofa onto her rear with an 'oof'. She stared at her brother, blinking repeatedly. 

Once the outburst was over, Rockman collapsed back on the couch and resumed staring at nothing, not even noticing how he had startled his sister. 

Roll stared between blinks for a few more moments before she could finally speak again. 

"What was THAT about!?"


	3. Chapter 3

Author Notes: Onward with the rewrite! For those wondering, Rose's history will be explained eventually, but it isn't important nor is it overly interesting. She doesn't have a glorious backstory with cherubs blowing trumpets in the Heavens, an angsty telling of her birth in this world surrounded by dead puppies and crying clowns, or anything of the sort; it's perfectly normal and perfectly bland. It's not really so much where she was as where she (and everyone else) is _going_. 

Also, I've stepped away from Mandi Paugh (though I am thankful for her help in the original) and ventured out in to my own theories and opinions of the Megaman (Rockman) world. As such, I no longer go by the "living machines" theory and instead focus on my own opinions on the matter. Likewise, you will not see any of her characters in this rewrite. 

And yes, the sequel will be rewritten as well. And people are trying to get me to rewrite ENSHS too. ;.; 

We will be using the character's Japanese names; this is more for personal preference than anything else. 

Rockman (Rock) - Megaman (Rock) 

Blues - Protoman/Breakman 

Forte - Bass 

Gospel - Treble 

Neither Yuki nor myself claim to own Megaman, the genre or the characters involved. Our interpretations of these characters are entirely our own and do not represent Capcom's views on said characters. Rose is my own personal brainchild while Rhythm belongs to Yuki. 

---- 

Poison Of Love 

--- 

By Neon Tiger and Yuki Ryu 

-- 

Chapter 3 

---- 

"Well, it's the moment of truth," Forte observed, solemnly. "Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky and it won't explode, taking half the fortress with it!" 

Wily fixed Forte with a level glare, and then grunted. "You're just mad that this robot's going to replace you." 

"Feh," Forte sneered at the very thought. 

"Activate her! Activate her!" Rose squealed happily, barely able to contain her excitement as she squirmed in the doorway. "I want to meet her!" 

Wily's cheek twitched as he glanced at Rose, then at the robot she 'helped' him design. He obviously was still not too keen about the idea of a female fighting robot. Something about that just seemed wrong to him. 

The robot in question was lying on the lab table hooked up to the main computer and awaiting activation. She was female, obviously, and had long dark blue hair that ended at her calves. Her armor was similar to Forte's design in that there was a breastplate, shoulder guards, and other such details similar to his, but her armor was more "fashionable" as Rose had put it. The dominant color was light blue with plating of slightly darker blue and deep blue with gold and white trimming it in various places. The helmet was of a radically different design, being segmented in a way that not only allowed for more protection to the face and the back of the head, but allowed her hair to flow free. Rose didn't like the normal helmet designs so she took it upon herself to make a better one that matched her new sister's armor. 

Another change Rose made was in not having any sort of cod piece; instead leaving that area covered by the basic body suit to allow more maneuverability. Lastly, decorating the middle of the breastplate was a light blue jewel in the center designed to mimic the beauty of the Star of Ishtar, as the actual gemstone was deep within the robot, though the fake was much lighter in color. A couple of smaller identical gemstones were also placed on both sides of the helmet. 

"ACTIVATE her!" Rose repeated, as if she thought Wily hadn't heard her the first time. 

"... Fine," Wily sighed. Despite how he personally did not care for the design, if he gave in to Rose just this once, it would hopefully get the idea out of his 'daughter's system for good. "Here we go..." The doctor leaned forward to tinker with the wires, grinning with satisfaction at the ensuing spark before the robot's core hummed to life. 

For a few moments all was silent as nothing further happened. 

"Huh! No explosions!" Forte observed. Wily bopped him upside the head. 

Unfortunately, while nothing terrible occurred, nothing else was happening as well. The robot remained prone on the table as if Wily had done nothing at all. 

"... Damn it," Wily muttered. "What happened?" 

Forte held his tongue, keeping his comments to himself. 

Wily muttered irritably as he ran a system scan of the new robot. He frowned sharply as there were no errors and by all rights and respects she should have been functioning and activated by now. 

"Didja kick it?" Forte offered. "That's how we fix most of the junk around here." 

"You're not kicking her," Rose stated. 

"Nothing I create is junk!" Wily snapped. 

"Even Junkman?" Forte asked, 'innocently'. 

Rose giggled. 

Wily's eye twitched. 

Without warning the robot suddenly opened her eyes, revealing them to be a bright brown, almost gold color, and then sat up. 

"Ah...!" Forte's eyes widened. 

"She's awake!" Rose gasped. 

"YES!" Wily cackled. "I've still got it!" 

The robot blinked, almost sleepily, at the three before she stretched her arms and yawned, as if waking up from sleep rather than having just been activated. 

"So what's 'er name?" Forte asked, glowering. 

"Rhythm," Wily announced proudly, quite giddy at his success. He then proceeded to crow about his achievement, even though his 'children' ignored him. 

"... Cute," Forte stuck his tongue out. 

The newly dubbed Rhythm blinked again and looked at each person in turn, tilting her head curiously. 

"HI!" Rose squealed as she lunged at Rhythm, hugging her tightly. "I'm your sister!" 

Rhythm started and blinked at Rose repeatedly. "Sister?" she wondered before returning the hug, figuring that was supposed to. 

"Yes!" Rose nodded, smiling happily. "We're family!" 

"Family..." Rhythm repeated before smiling, obviously liking the sound of that. 

"Uh huh," Rose smiled even wider, oblivious to Wily's ranting behind her. 

"Finally I'll be able to defeat that little blue meddler once and for all!" Wily crowed as he did an impromptu dance around the lab. 

"C'mon!" Rose helped Rhythm up off of the table. "Let's go!" 

Forte blinked at Rose but said nothing. 

"Go where?" Rhythm blinked as she slipped off the table. 

Wily continued to rant about how he would rule the world, oblivious to what Rose was doing with his new 'ultimate robot'. 

"To the mall!" Rose grinned, unplugging Rhythm completely. "We're going shopping! You need new clothes!" 

Forte sweatdropped but still said nothing. 

"Okay!" Rhythm smiled cheerfully as Rose's enthusiasm rubbed off on her. 

Wily paused in his boasting for a moment to cackle manically. 

"Oh, I'm so glad to meet you, Rhythm! It's been so hard, being surrounded by nothing but guys. With all the Robot Masters, Forte, and Papa himself... there's enough testosterone in this fortress, artificial and not, to smother a girl!" 

Forte watched as Rose darted out of the room with Rhythm, uncertain if he should try to stop them. Half of him said to stop him while the other half said to let them go. In the end, both Rhythm and Rose were gone before he could make up his mind. 

Meanwhile Wily had finally finished his private celebration. "Now, Rhythm, it's time for you to-!" he stopped in mid-sentence, his jaw dropping as he noticed his new creation was gone, along with Rose. 

"... I didn't do it!" Forte instinctively held up his hands. 

Wily looked at Forte for a moment before he stared at the place where his two female creations once were. 

"... I knew I shouldn't have made another girl." 

--- 

"That was fun!" 

"Of course," Rose nodded in agreement, swinging the bags in her hands happily. 

Rhythm smiled as she carried twice as many bags as Rose, due to the fact that she was built stronger. Instead of her armor she wore a new, more 'stylish' outfit consisting of a pink sleeveless shirt, aqua pants, blue sneakers, and a pair of blue scrunchies on her wrists. 

Following behind the two girls were a few of the Robot Masters carrying all of the 'heavy things', and generally staggering, as the bags mostly blocked their view. 

"Thank you for helping us, by the way," Rose glanced back, smiling sweetly. "They were just so heavy." 

"Yes, thank you!" Rhythm smiled cheerfully at the Robot Masters. 

"N-no problem..." Pharaohman grunted as he and the others struggled with their loads. 

"Don't worry about it, darlings!" Starman purred as he swung his hips, holding a bag of perfume and a few handbags. "You have such wonderful taste in clothing! How could I resist?" 

"Thank you!" Rhythm smiled cheerfully at the compliment. 

"Hehehe," Rose blushed delicately. "Thank you!" 

"Shiny, shiny!" Woodman squealed. 

"Uh... what were we doing again?" Gutsman blinked. 

"So that's where you went," Forte leaned against the wall, watching the 'procession' as they entered. "Wily had a fit." 

"Eh?" Rhythm blinked as she tilted her head slightly. "You mean he already knows about the clerk that sliced up his credit card?" 

"... He will soon enough," Forte said, slowly. "But I meant about Rose running off with his 'prized robot'." 

"Tee hee," Rose giggled. 

"Prized robot? Do you mean me?" Rhythm asked innocently as she pointed at herself. 

"Well, duh," Forte glowered. 

Rose leaned over. "Ignore him. Big Brother Forte's just jealous 'cuz he didn't get to go." 

"Oh, okay," Rhythm blinked, speaking lowly. "Maybe we should give him some of the things we bought for him?" 

"... You bought me something?" Forte immediately perked up. 

"Yep!" Rose grinned. 

"Lemme see!" Forte darted over. "What'd you get me?" 

"Lots of stuff!" Rhythm smiled cheerfully and set down her bags before rooting through one of them. 

"Here!" Rose reached in to a bag Pharaohman carried and gave Forte a big black t-shirt with the words "Deliciously Evil" on the front in bright red and matching black pants. Forte blinked, then chuckled. 

"And these too!" Rhythm smiled brightly as she pulled out a pair of custom-made plush dolls. One was a cutely super deformed version of Forte, while the other was in the image of Gospel. "There was a place in the mall that they could make dolls from pictures and Rose had some so we had them made for you!" 

Forte blinked repeatedly, then chuckled again. "Cute." 

"Isn't it!?" Rose squealed. 

Rhythm giggled, obviously pleased, as she handed the dolls over to Forte. She then turned around and rooted through one of the bags Gutsman carried and pulled out a black baseball cap that had "If you can read this you're already dead" written across the front. "We got you this too!" she chirped as she held out the hat to Forte. "Try it on!" 

Forte blinked, then tugged off his helmet to reveal his dark onyx hair with a pair of purple streaks through the bangs and quickly put on the hat. He blinked and admired himself, smirking. "Heh." 

"You look great, Big Brother!" Rhythm squealed happily. 

"I always do," Forte beamed. 

"Heh," Rose rolled her eyes, smirking. 

Rhythm just giggled, obviously quite pleased. 

"You look good enough to EAT," Starman purred. 

Forte looked a bit freaked. 

"Dinner time?" Gutsman blinked. 

"I am not on the menu," Forte scowled. 

"You should be!" Starman purred. 

"Why would you want to eat Forte?" Rhythm blinked at Starman, obviously not catching the innuendo. 

Rose leaned close and whispered. "He's being pervy." 

"Oh," Rhythm blinked. 

"Not pervy, my dear! Lustful!" Starman replied. 

Rose rolled her eyes. 

Forte paused to look at Rhythm, unable to believe that such a girl could possibly be the ultimate robot. There was nothing ultimate about her! She acted like just another non-combat robot, and a girl at that. 

Forte watched as Rose and Rhythm began to talk back and forth, engaging in 'girl chitchat'. It further enforced his opinion that Rhythm could not possibly be a combat robot. 

And he was going to prove it. 

Forte grinned, then suddenly lunged forward and mock-punched at Rhythm. "THINK FAST!" 

Instantly Rhythm tensed, eyes snapping open wide. Within the blink of an eye she caught Forte's wrist, almost out of reflex, and threw him over her shoulder into the bag-carrying Robot Masters. 

"Eeep!" Rose gasped, covering her mouth as Forte yelped and slammed in to Woodman. Forte bounced off the mighty robot, who just stared at him stupidly, and came to a stop on the ground. 

"A-ack..." Forte flinched and slowly sat up. 

Rhythm blinked slowly as if not fully aware of what she had just done. She then gasped, horrified. "Oh no, look what you made me do!" she exclaimed. 

Forte twitched visibly and glared at Rhythm. 

"I hope you didn't break anything..." Rhythm muttered worriedly, either not noticing the glare or her concern causing her to ignore it. 

"Oh, he didn't damage any of the merchandise," Starman grinned. "It's more resilient than that." 

Forte glowered even more darkly. 

"That's good," Rhythm sighed in relief before brightening again, shrugging off the incident. 

Forte flushed darkly with humiliation and anger. 

"... I'm glad you're all right, Forte..." Rose said softly, immediately sensing that something was upsetting him. 

Forte nodded sharply. 

"Me too," Rhythm nodded in agreement, smiling brightly. 

Forte said nothing. 

"Besides, sweet cheeks, that bra matches your eyes!" Starman added. 

Forte paused, then flushed as he realized he had a bra on his head, and immediately threw it away as if it burned him. Rose picked up the bra and chuckled weakly. 

A sudden sharp clapping caught the robots' attention. 

"Splendid!" Wily crowed from where he stood in the doorway. "You've eliminated any doubts I had with that display of skill, Rhythm." 

Forte flushed even brighter with humiliation. 

"Oh, well, thank you, Papa," Rhythm blushed slightly. "But I didn't really mean for that to happen. I just... reacted without thinking." 

Rose glanced sympathetically at Forte. 

"Exactly," Wily grinned as he walked over to his newest creation, apparently oblivious to Forte's humiliation. "You were completely unawares and yet you still not only fended off Forte's attack, you turned it back at him as well!" 

"Lucky shot," Forte muttered. 

"Ah..." Rhythm blushed even more from the praise. 

"Now, it's time we got started!" Wily cackled as he took Rhythm's arm and started dragging her off towards the lab. 

"Started?" Rhythm blinked as she quickly started walking to keep up with her creator. "On what?" 

Rose blinked. 

"You, my dear, are going to defeat Rockman!" Wily cackled. 

Rhythm blinked as she was quickly whisked away by Wily. 

Forte fumbled to his feet. 

Rose glanced after Wily, then turned to Forte and inched close to hug him softly. "It's all right." 

Forte scowled. 

"You're still number one with me," Rose told him. 

Forte flushed slightly. "... Thanks." 

"I love you too, puddin'!" Starman lunged. Forte yelped and jumped out of the way, then glowered. 

"No." 

"But I dooo!" 

"Just don't." 

"Poo." 

--- 

Rose stared at the ground as she thought about what she was going to say, heading towards the lab to speak with Wily. She knew Forte was hurting inside due to what was happening with Rhythm. She may have been 'just a Robot' but she was highly developed, just like Forte. They felt pain, emotional and physical. So, she decided to talk to Wily and ask him to give Forte another chance; to help Forte feel better and fix his damaged pride. However, at the sound of Wily's voice, she paused to listen. 

"So, do you understand what to do?" 

"I think so..." Rhythm began. "I'm supposed to flirt with Rockman, lure him to the trap in the junk yard, and then fight him, right?" 

Rose's eyes widened before she glowered, stomped her foot, and stormed into the room. "I THINK NOT!" 

"What?!" Wily whirled to face Rose. Rhythm blinked at her sister. 

"Is that your plan!?" Rose thundered, her face red as she pointed accusingly at her father. "She is not a sex object!" 

"It's the perfect plan!" Wily argued. "Rockman won't suspect anything until it's too late!" 

"It's chauvinistic!" Rose waved her pointed finger at Wily. "It's totally PIGGY!" 

"It's good strategy!" Wily returned. "Cute girls turn boys' heads, and since Rockman has no idea who Rhythm is, it'll be easy for her to make him fall for her and then into my trap!" 

Rhythm rubbed her head, wondering exactly was going on, but knew better than to get in the middle of a fight between her 'father' and sister. 

"You can't play with someone's emotions like that!" Rose barked. She couldn't help but see the irony in the situation; Wily denied that robots could have emotions but had designed a plan to take advantage of the very thing he insisted robots didn't have. "It's wrong! And using a girl like that... It's just as wrong! It's double wrong!" 

"All's fair in love and war, and using love in war is even better!" Wily snapped. 

"That's a bunch of baloney and you know it!" Rose snapped. 

"It doesn't matter so long as that blue busybody is gone!" Wily growled. 

"IT DOES MATTER!" Rose pointed at Wily. "It's wrong to use emotions like that!" 

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! IT'S A PERFECT PLAN!" Wily stomped his foot angrily. 

"IT - IS - NOT!" Rose retorted, stomping her foot to punctuate her words. 

"What would YOU do instead then?!" Wily demanded. 

"Lure him in to a trap as you always do!" Rose retorted. "He always comes and he always tries to talk Forte out of fighting... and he tries to become friends!" 

"That's exactly my plan! Rhythm will lure him into a trap with her feminine charms!" Wily returned. 

"NO FEMININE CHARMS!" Rose barked. 

"IT'S PERFECT TO HAVE ROCKMAN LOWER HIS GUARD!" 

"It's still WRONG!" Rose roared. "Why can't you just use Forte to lure Rockman out... and have Rhythm sneak attack him!?" 

"ROCKMAN WILL STILL BE ON HIS GUARD!" Wily shouted. 

"NOT IF HE'S FOCUSING ENTIRELY ON FORTE AND NOT ON A SNEAK ATTACK!" Rose screamed. "YOU'VE NEVER DONE A SNEAK ATTACK WITHIN A SNEAK ATTACK!" 

Rhythm flinched at all the yelling and silently wished that they'd stop and calm down. 

Wily paused. "A sneak attack within a sneak attack..." 

Rose panted slightly as she glowered. 

"... All right, I'll consider using your plan, Rose," Wily decided after a moment, since Rose's idea was a good one. 

Surprised by Wily relenting, Rose blinked, and then nodded. 

"That doesn't mean that I'll use it," Wily hastened to add, a scowl on his face. "I'll merely consider it verses my original plan." 

Rose fixed Wily a gaze that told him that he'd better do more than consider it. 

Wily returned the gaze steadily and stubbornly. 

Rose glowered. 

Wily scowled. 

"Wow, you know you two look a lot alike when you do that," Rhythm commented, speaking up for the first time since the argument began. 

Rose arched an eyebrow. 

Wily started to arch his eyebrow at the exact same time, but stopped as he noticed Rose and scowled all the more. 

Rhythm smiled innocently at the two. 

Rose paused, and then suddenly her eyes moistened as her lower lip trembled. 

Wily froze at the sight of Rose's pout. "... Don't you dare cry, Rose!" he ordered, but the attempt was futile. 

Rose's eyes widened as they shimmered, twin pools forming in the corners of her eyes as her lip trembling increased. 

"Rose? What's wrong?" Rhythm asked, concerned. 

Rose sniffled. 

"Now... Rose... don't cry," Wily repeated in a more soothing tone, vainly attempting to stop what he knew was coming next. 

Rose sniffled again as 'tears' trickled down her cheeks slowly. 

"Not again..." Wily sighed. He was able to handle fighting Rockman, dealing with the police, and even escaping from numerous maximum-security prisons, but he was no match for his 'daughter' whenever she cried. "Rose... just calm down and stop crying... please?" 

"... Y-you don't like my idea..." Rose sniffed. 

"I didn't say that," Wily said defensively. "I merely said I'd consider it verses my original plan... I wasn't saying that it isn't a good plan." 

"Y-you d-d-don't like it!" Rose whimpered. "Y-you think it's stupid... You think I'm stupid!" 

Rhythm started to sniffle as well because of how sad her sister was. 

"I didn't say that," Wily tried to soothe. "It's a wonderful plan Rose, really!" 

"T-t-then why won't you u-u-use it?" Rose wanted to know. 

"Because I've already got a plan, and you know how stubborn we old men can be," Wily said in an almost fatherly manner. Despite how he might have been a maniacal madman hell-bent on ruling the world, he still had his moments of kindness, particularly towards his creations. 

"... Y-yeah," Rose giggled slightly, snuffling. 

"Papa... can't we use Big Sister Rose's plan?" Rhythm sniffled, her eyes shimmering with moisture. 

Wily sighed, knowing that he was no match for the two girl robots. "Fine." 

"YAY!" Rose squealed, jumping up and down happily before lunging to hug Wily. "Thank you!" 

"YAY!" Rhythm cheered, happy because Rose was happy again and lunged to join in on the hug. 

"You're welcome, Rose," Wily sighed again as he returned the hugs. 

The doctor sighed a third time as he looked between his two female creations' smiling faces. If any of his other robots, including Forte, had tried to argue with him on anything, he would have never backed down, yet whenever Rose started to cry he caved in like a house of cards in a strong breeze. There was something about girls, robot or no, that somehow would always win in a battle of the wills. 

He sighed once again. "I'm doomed," he thought.


End file.
